Perspectives - Corporate Change and the Hero's Quest · PDF fileCorporate Change and the...

Corporate Change and the Hero’s Quest

Robert 1. Holder and Richard N. MeKinney, Ph.D.

Rub&J. Hulder is an organizational flectiveness und management development cunsultant. His St. Louis-based firm, Human Energy Design Systems, works with a variety of profit and nonprofit organizations and small enterprises. He cunsulfs, speaks, and writes abouf creativity, strategic visioning, and human systems design.

Richard N. McKinney, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Schuol of Business at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. His research and writing has focused on organizational and management dmelupment in dynamic market environments. Since 1970, he has also dune extensive research on intrapersonal develupment processes.

In the 199Os, executives and their associates will experience an increasingly complex and uncertain world. They will be required to cope with economic globalization and with accelerating changes in technologies, work force characteristics, and organizational forms. They will face an expanding number of people riding the crest of the “Baby Boomer Wave” who exhibit a diversity of life-styles.

Attention will, of necessity, be focused on ecological issues, the new work force, gypsy workers, and a variety of issues arising from the continuing shift from an industrial to a knowledge age. They must also begin to strategize the issues that will emerge from the commercialization of outer space,

Traditional planning is a dead end. Planned change has been the process for moving organizations into new

conditions. It assumes that the future is predictable and there

Note: The authors would like to recognize the insights provided by Ned Hamson, who emphasized the importance of compassion, and Harrison Owen, who helped us understand the significance of mythology. The writings of John Sculley, Peter Vail& and Marvin Weisbord provided numerous insirrhts.

WORLD BUSINESS ACADEMY PERSPECTIVES ol992 VOL. 6, NO. 4 Berrett-Koehler Publishers

40 WORLD BUSINESS ACADEMY PERSPECTIVES

Seeking to replicate the

quest of another will only lead to diminished outcomes or

disaster.

is an end state to be reached. The last ten years have shown us that these assumptions are no longer valid. Firms that acknowledge that new assumptions are needed have entered into adventurous change.

The words used to describe the process of change have also changed. The words that seem to fit now are quest, odyssey, and journey rather than strategic change management and planned change. We believe that the reason these words are more comfortable than faddish is that they are, in fact, an expression of an archetype of change-the heroic quest. This archetype is best characterized by Joseph Campbell in The Heru with a Thuusand Faces (Princeton University, 1968). This article presents a discussion of this change process based on Campbell’s hero cycle.

The Hero’s Quest

Campbell found that the hero’s quest involves three stages: separation or departure; the trials and victories of initiation; and the return to and reintegration into society. The quest is a transformative cycle. It is neither a linear nor a logical stage-by-stage process. There can be both processions and recessions throughout the process.

While there is an overall cyclical pattern, the way in which this cycle unfolds is always unique. And because no two adventures are ever the same, seeking to replicate the quest of another will only lead to diminished outcomes or disaster.

The quest is a process of exploring mystery. Chaos, uncertainty, and experimentation are experienced throughout the adventure and are necessary. The quest is mostly a process of discovery and creation; thus, existing theories and techniques play a marginal role in it. New theories and techniques arise from the odyssey. It is the quest of the explorer rather than that of the planner. Thus, fears arising from thoughts that you have too little knowledge may lead to rejecting or avoiding the call to adventure.

The quest involves both personal transformation and the unleashing of organizational members’ creative abilities to discover their own theories and technologies for revitaliz- ing the organization. The key is to trust oneself and one’s companions.

The quest is both a spiritual and a physical process. The spiritual dimension involves an inward renewal. This inward change directs the creation of the physical change.

CORPORATE CHANGE AND THE HERO’S QUEST 41

The physical process may involve significant changes in organizational systems.

New rituals based on a new vision initiate a new pattern (paradigm), which in time becomes as rigid and inappropriate as the previous paradigm. Thus the ending of one cycle leads to a new adventure, unless it is suppressed by those who see benefit from the previous vision and associated rituals.

Separation or Departure

The first stage involves stepping from the known into the unknown and includes:

l The call to adventure l Encountering a quest companion + Entering the void l The inward journey

The Call to Adventure. The call to adventure triggers the quest. It can take two forms: inward or outward.

The first form of inward call is “felt need,” experienced as feelings of depression, purposelessness, or a vague sense that something is wrong. A second form of inward call may come as an insight or a vision.

The call to adventure can also be triggered by external events. Triggering events include rapid changes in technol-

. ogy, increased competition, declines in product or service demand, loss of a major customer, passage of legislation, changes in resources, and a decision to close a plant.

Encountering a Quest Companion. The next aspect of the journey’s beginning stage is encountering a companion or helper. A companion can take a number of different forms. The first is the spiritual companion who provides insights, inspiration, and spiritual guidance. The companion may or may not be physically present during the change process. A second form of companion is the external consultant.

Entering the Void: Trials and Victories. With the companion (or companions), the hero passes through the gates of the known into the void: a domain without maps (the hero may be conceived of as the CEO alone or the organization as a whole). The void is experienced whenever a context lacks rules of the game or the rules are changing so rapidly that past knowledge is a hindrance rather than a benefit. Metaphors for operating in the void include being in the mist, rafting the permanent whitewater, and leading the troups through the wilder-


The void can be a place of

both terror and opportunity.

ness. Often, organizational members may neither understand nor feel in control of what they are experiencing.

The void can be a place of both terror and opportunity. When change is perceived as terrifying, organizational members may engage in the following strategies to cope with the uncertainty of the void: avoidance, excessive rationality, use of ideologies to limit reality, or use of a variety of management and administrative tactics to control or deflect information that leads to chaos. These strategies will be ineffective, because they are based on the assumption that business will return to normal. It will not. They will fail also because they are defensive routines designed to cope with uncertainty rather than deal with the chaos.

The Inward Journey. Passage into the void leads to the inward journey. This can be experienced in terms of two archetypes: “the adventure” and “regression to adventure.” In both cases, the process involves letting go of past habits, embracing emptiness, and experiencing rebirth. For organizations lacking an adventuresome spirit, the inward journey can also involve recognizing limits, and experiencing feelings of loneliness, alienation, anxiety, and fear.

The inward journey may involve an expansion of an individual’s or organization’s existing identity. Such a regression to adventure may result in a grieving or mourning experience for the loss of what was. Without mourning, revitalization may not take place. Since pain is perceived as negative in this culture and admitting pain “unmanly,” it may be avoided and denied. When the grieving process does not take place, a new vision may be stillborn.

Formal rites of passage may be employed to facilitate the process. For example, an organization might hold a wake to commemorate the closing of a division. Participants could use the wake as a way to honor the work that they have done and help prepare them for their new life in the restructured company.

The experience of the organization is mirrored by its members. This may take two forms. Individuals can lose a sense of purpose, and the life that they have lived may seem meaningless. This form of individual passage is not uncommon when organizations and their members are facing dra- matic change.

The second form is more gradual and less traumatic and involves a longer-term process. The inner journey may involve a number of insights and struggles with oneself: the


need for centralized control, authoritarian business practices, or difficulty letting go of traditional business ways. This is not easy and involves a continuous process of experimentation, mistakes, insight, and new Ieamings.

Initiation: Its Trials and Victories

The next stage of the adventure is the initS~n. This form of initiation should not be confused with being initiated into some existing concept or way. It is being initiated out of the past and into the future. It may involve experiencing countless trials. Initiation also leads to the final victory-the new vision.

The Trials. These trials transform the individual or the group. They also are opportunities for learning which tend to take the form of failures and challenges.

The trials can evoke the humanness of organizational members who relearn compassion from their suffering. They can lead to a sense of community, the feeling that “we’re all in this together.” This spirit may lead to deep feelings for the organization and for each other. Possible trials and the critical issues associated with coping with them include the following:

l The trial of the uncommifted organization. A common trial involves energizing an uncommitted organization. The critical issue for executives may be recognizing that their beliefs and behaviors are a significant part of the problem. They must assume responsibility for the consequences of their past actions.

l The trial uf IOSS. Another trial is dealing with members who are unable or unwilling to adapt to the change and allowing them to seek their own path.

l The trial of the change process gone aw y. Another trial is the change program that goes astray. The test is whether people learn things that help the organization work itself through failures and still continue its quest. Executive integ- rity, compassion, and courage are needed to accept that a change program is not working.

l 7’he Oedipus trial. An effective quest often requires cutting the cords of dependency to discover a new way. Management must transform the explicit or implicit aspects of the organization that are based on paternalism and authoritarianism.

l The trial of shadows and mirrors. Another aspect of this trial stage of the journey is becoming aware of and integrat-


The quest requires rapid

decision making, nunruu tine activities,

innovatiun, and high levels of

uncertainty as much as it does

carefully plunned strategies and

steps.

ing the shadow side of the individual and of the organizational culture. This process involves:

1. The recognition that shadows are largely within the leadership or structure and projected onto organization members

2. The taking back of false projections and acceptance of positive ones

3. Integration of the positive shadows and making them concrete or visible

The superrational manager must consciously inte- grate the irrational within or it may come forth unconsciously and conquer the rational mind. Such executives may well become confused or angry when they realize that planned change is irrational in an uncertain environment and that extreme rationality may seriously interfere with the quest.

The quest requires rapid decision making,nonroutine activities, innovation, and high levels of uncertainty as much as it does carefully planned strategies and steps. The analytical manager may confront a need for using and developing intuitive abilities. Intuitive managers may have to develop a better understanding of their analytical associates.

Atonement and Synergy. The process of integrating shadows creates the conditions for atonement-the process of creating synergy. It is symbolized by the Taoist symbol of the yinand yang This symbol communicates that organizational life involves reconciling countless paradoxes. Atonement does not evolve from a programmatic change process. It arises from the alchemy of “mess” and “cooking.”

Discovering the Vision. Vision discovery is the final aspect of this stage. In the fires of atonement, people discover opportunities in the chaos, gain commitment, and become energized. It is at this point that the new vision often emerges.

Some will come to the realization that visioning can and perhaps should be a continuous process of creative impro- %&ion-that last month’s vision may not be appropriate in today’s context. Visioning can be a real-time activity involv- ing both stability and flux.

Some find that they need not be concerned about the lack of vision before engaging in the adventure. Often high- performance systems unfold from within the mystery of action. The value of a vague vision is that it provides the space required for imagination and creative improvisation It also

CORPORATE CHANGE AND THE HERO’S OUEST 4s

prevents the development of fixed expectations about how the process must unfold, which can limit visioning.

Some questors may create a vision only to discover that it is not viable. They will have return to the void to create a new vision.

The Return

The third stage of the journey is the return. The primary theme is the hero’s return and the renewal of the community with the wisdom of vision.

The Final Trials and Traps. Upon returning, the hero may encounter numerous obstacles in articulating, communicat- ing, and implementing the vision. These may include: the bliss trap, the demon chase run in, and the final temptations.

l T/ze bliss trap. The trap of vision bliss arises when the visionaries are blind to other important issues. Organizations may become trapped in the bliss of past success. Past suc- cesses inhibit some from undertaking necessary changes.

l The demon chase. It is not uncommon for the hero to be chased by demons bent on destroying the vision. Demons can be various organizational stakeholders. Union leaders or mid-level managers may resist innovation efforts and Wall Street analysts and stockholders may emphasize quarterly returns over the long term and thus prevent the organization from taking the time needed to support innovations.

Internaldemon behaviors may take the form of excessive controls, rigid structures, demands for conformity, lack of commitment, emphasis on short-run results, and devotion to rituals over the real work.

Demons based on inner fears and anxieties associated with the change process may lead to blame games, win-lose strategies, overpromising, simplistic solutions, and quick-fix change programs. Demons may also take the outward form of consultants. For example, executives may be tempted by consultants claiming to have a magic wand: a quick fix through canned programs for creating organizational effectiveness

l The final temptations. The vision can also be de- stroyed by temptations not to engage in sacrifice. These temptations are illustrated by the experiences of Christ and Buddha. Christ experienced three temptations: politics and power, economics, and spiritual growth or expansion. Bud- dha was tempted by desire, social duty, and fear.

Organizations may become

trapped in the bliss ofpast

SUCCeSS,


Sacrifice in this context involves the root meaning of this word: to make sacred. An example of sacrifice is the ending of the illusion that managers don’t make mistakes and have all the answers. This sacrifice leads toward whole- ness. Sacrifice can involve a personal letting go of the idea that everyone must be the same and/or that the change must unfold in a certain fashion.

Sharing the Vision. Campbell observes that for the hero to bring the vision into the world, he or she must create a ritual. The American Indian visionary Black Elk states, “A man who has vision is not able to use the power of it until he has performed the vision on earth for the people to see.” This is the finalaspect of the quest- enactment of a ritual of creation.

Rituals of Rituals of creation are unique to the conditions of the

creation a;e organization and can take a variety of forms. They range from

unique to the rituals of very limited purpose to ones that symbolize total

COtiditiO#S of the organizational change. Rituals of creation can be developed by work teamsand individuals. Theseactivitiescan beviewed

organization as rituals of creation for community development or task

and can take a accomplishment.

variety of forms. Quest Clues

The quest is one metaphor for transforming organizations, developing high-performing systems, and embracing change in high-novelty environments. This quest provides clues for executives and associates for their odyssey.

First Clue. The first clue is the need for continuous awareness of the call to adventure and recognition of the factors that inhibit hearing and accepting the call.

Second Clue. The second clue is awareness of the relation- ship between organization members and internal and external change agents--companions. Companions do not assume responsibility for the journey, nor do they direct the change process. They do support the expression of creativity and challenge the organization’s members and leadership to continue the quest. They act as friends and provide concepts, theories, and ideas when requested.

Third Clue. Accepting the idea that the adventure is filled with mystery is the next clue. Executives need to recognize that there are times when they don’t know what to do and should be willing to express this. The following provide clues for dealing with the void:

1. Recognize that chaos is the natural state of the void. 2. Challenge the status quo.


3. Scout the void for opportunities. 4. Envision a variety of scenarios for dealing with the

void using dialogue rather than analysis. 5. Create order through action based on direct contact

with the environment.

Fourth Clue. The fourth clue is awareness that both individuals and the organization will experience identity change and growth. This is critical to the process of change and cannot be avoided. This process requires a compassionate attitude in dealing with feeling issues and in providing support. Orga- nization members ought to develop a state of self-compassion and not feel guilt-about their experience of trauma-and psychological corksion People must be

People must be provided with the time to experience provided with the change process and discover whether they are suited to it. the time to If they are not, they should be provided with support through counseling, outplacement assistance, or transfer.

experience the

People will discover strengths that were previously change process

not apparent. Managers and executives need to be aware of and discover

their tendency to depreciate the potential of their associates whether they are on the basis oi past conditions and their failure to recognize suited to it. that people can rise to the occasion when given the chance. Associates also need to become aware of their Jonah complex: the tendency to self-diminish rather than actualize their fullest potential.

Fifth Clue. Visioning is not a ritual or analytical process. Visioning is both a real-time and a long-term process. It involves human development and an in-depth assessment of the organization and its environment. Successful visioning requires cutting the cord of paternalistic practices. It can also involve an awareness and transforming of the organization’s core mythology and the revitalization of values and mind- sets.

Sixth Clue. Creating synergy is similar to David Hurst’s metaphor of integrating bubbles and boxes. Bubbles are the symbolic expression of the soft, intuitive, acausal, and Theory Y nature of organizational effectiveness. Boxes are the formal, hard, logical, and Theory X functions of the enterprise. Writing in the Harvard Business Reviezu (Vol. 84, No. 31, Hurst states, “organizational effectiveness results when you find the bubble in the box and put the box in the bubble.”

Hurst’s metaphor suggests that synergy arises from the interplay of soft and hard. Play is creative improvisation that leads to creating a new game rather than learning to play


someone else’s game: methodology. Play also leads to spon- taneous unlearning and the end of influencing, which are necessary for creating a new context.

Seventh and Final Clue. The final clue is the importance of

Inward change inward change. Inward change is not learned in trainings or

is not learned developed through the use of techniques. It cannot be im- posed by management. In fact, the quest warns that an

in trainings or attempt to “brainwash” the quest participants reflects an

developed expression of inner demons and will only lead to disaster.

through the use The experiencing of trials and facing the external and internal

of techniques. demons lead to inward change. Successful inward change arises only when organizational members are encouraged to be “free spirits” and to think for themselves.

This article is adapted from an article by the same name that appeared in @muzZ for QuaZityand Participation (July/August 1992) with permission of the publisher.

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